Ski construction, particularly for children

ABSTRACT

A ski which is designed particularly for children. The ski includes an elongated ski body which at its upper surface is rigid with a structure for holding the heel of a shoe. Forwardly of this latter structure the ski body has a pair of side wings extending upwardly from its opposed side edges, these wings respectively being formed with openings which are flush with the upper surface of the ski. Between the wings extends a strip of sheet material which at one end region engages the upper surface of the ski between the wings and which from this one end region extends forwardly then upwardly and then rearwardly over the top of the front portion of the shoe, with a suitable strap structure being connected to the strip and extending through the wing openings and engaging the strip for forming with the latter and enclosure and cover for the front portion of a shoe.

United States Patent. 1191 Puchtler SK] CONSTRUCTION, PARTICULARLY FOR CHILDREN [76] Inventor: Martin Puchtler, Rangenweg 9,

D-8583 Bischofsgrun, Germany [22] Filed: July 30, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 383,473

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Aug. 2, 1972 Germany 2238047 [52] U.S. Cl. 280/1135 A [51] Int. Cl A63c 9/04 58 Field ofSearch...280/1l.35 A, 11.35F,11.35L, 280/1135 B, 11.35 c, 11.35 P, 11.35 R,

[451 Dec. 17, 1974 Primary ExaminerStanley H. Tollberg Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Steinberg & Blake 5 7] ABSTRACT A ski which is designed particularly for children. The ski includes an elongated ski body which at its upper surface is rigid with a structure for holding the heel of a shoe. Forwardly of this latter structure the ski body has a pair of side wings extending upwardly from its opposed side edges, these wings respectively being formed with openings which are flush with the upper surface of the ski. Between the wings extends a strip of sheet material which at one end region engages the upper surface of the ski between the wings and which from this one end region extends forwardly then upwardly and then rearwardly over the top of the front portion of the shoe, with a suitable strap structure being Connected to the strip and extending through the wing openings and engaging the strip for forming with the latter and enclosure and cover for the front portion of a shoe.

12 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures SKI CONSTRUCTION, PARTICULARLY FOR CHILDREN BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION children ski bindings which include a plate to be situated beneath the shoe as well as structure for holding the heel and front portion of the shoe. The heel holding structure is connected with this plate and extends upwardly therefrom over the upper surface of the plate conforming essentially to the configuration of the heel of the shoe with the structure being such that it extends around the heel and along the side thereof. This holding structure holds the shoe by way of a strap which if necessary will open. The front shoe holding structure is situated at the side of the shoe and is also fixed with the plate on which the shoe rests, having also holding elements which can open when necessary, these elements extending over the front portion of the shoe to hold the latter on the plate. Such a plate, heel holding structure, holding straps and other holding elements may be made of plastic and in fact the entire assembly may be formed integrally with the remainder of the ski body to provide a one-piece construction.

Constructions of the above type permit any type of shoe to be connected to the ski, so that shoes of the type normally worn by children can be connected to the ski with ski boots not being used because they often result in cold feet. However, experience has shown that such conventional skis for children have a number of drawbacks. For example, the front part of the shoe is not properly held by elastic components. Moreover, the stability of such conventional skis is not as great as desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to provide a ski of the above general type which avoid the above drawbacks.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a ski which has the capability of providing a particularly good guide at the sides of the shoe and which at the same time has a highly desirable stability in connection with the mounting of the shoe on the ski.

It is particularly an object of the present invention to provide a construction of the above type which will protect the shoe against snow.

It is furthermore an object of the present invention to provide a construction of the above general type which lends itself to different shoe sizes, so that not only can the construction be used by children of difierent ages and sizes, but also the same construction can be used by one child as he grows.

It is furthermore an object of the present invention to provide a construction of the above general type which is simple and inexpensive while at the same time being exceedingly convenient to manipulate.

According to the invention the ski which is particularly adapted for children includes an elongated ski body having a lower running surface and an upper surface which is rigid with a heel-holding means having a strap for holding the heel against the heel-holding means. Forwardly of this heel-holding means the ski body is rigid with a pair of upwardly extending wings respectively situated at opposed side edges of the ski body and respectively formed with openings which are flush with the upper surface of the ski. Between these wings is situated one end region of an elongated strip of sheet material whose width corresponds to the width of the ski between the wings, this strip of sheet material extending from its end region between the wings first forwardly and then upwardly and then rearwardly over the end region which engages the upper surface of the ski. A strap means extends laterally with respect to this strip of sheet material through the wing openings and cooperates with the strip of sheet material to form with the latter an enclosure and covering for the front portion of the shoe.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings which form part of this application and in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section elevation of one possible embodiment of a ski according to the invention, the structure of FIG. 1 being shown without the enclosure for the front portion of the shoe;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view at an enlarged scale as compared with FIG. 1 showing one possible embodiment of the enclosure and covering structure for the front portion of the shoe;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the structure of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of the manner in which a shoe is connected with the ski;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of another embodiment of an elongated strip of sheet material which may be used to form part of the enclosure for the front of the shoe;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a further embodiment of a ski according to the invention, also shown without the structure for enclosing the front of the shoe; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary partly sectional side elevation of another embodiment of a structure for enclosing. the front portion of a shoe.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated therein a ski 1 which may be made of a suitable plastic material. Inasmuch as this ski l is designed for a child it has a length on the order of cm and it has a width on the order of approximately 10 cm. At the region of the ski where the shoe is to be connected, the ski is rigid at both of its side edge regions with a pair of wings 3 which extend longitudinally of the opposed side edges of the ski, upwardly from the upper surface thereof which is opposed to the lower running surface of the ski body 1. As is apparent from FIG. 1, the wings 3 are respectively formed with a pair of aligned opposed openings 4 of elongated configuration which are flush with the upper surface of the ski body.

As is shown in FIG. 6, instead of providing wings 3 which have front and rear ends respectively situated rearwardly and forwardly of the front and rear ends of the ski body 1, it is possible to provide a pair of opposed wings 23 which gradually taper toward the front end and rear end of the ski 20 illustrated in FIG. 6. In this way the stability is increased. In addition, instead of having a single opening 4 as shown in FIG. 1, the wings 23 may each be provided with a series of elongated openings 24 each of which is arranged in the same way as the opening 4 so that it is flush with the upper surface in the ski body 20. In this way the extent of adjustability is increased, as will be apparent from the description which follows.

Situated between the wings 3 is an elongated strip of sheet material which, for example, may be made of a plastic sheet material reinforced with fibers. This elongated strip 5 of sheet material is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. The elongated strip of sheet material 5 has a width corresponding to the width of the ski 1 between the wings 3, and the strip of sheet material 5 has a lower end region 7 which is situated in engagement with the upper surface of the ski body between the wings 3 thereof. At its end region 7 the stripof sheet material 5 is formed with a pair of opposed longitudinally extending slits 6 spaced somewhat inwardly from the opposed side edges of the strip 5 and extending parallel thereto. The elongated strip of sheet material 5 extends from-its lower rear end region 7 first forwardly, then upwardly and then rearwardly to be situated over the part of the strip which engages the upper surface of the skibodybetween the wings 3, and at this upper rearwardly extending region the strip 5 is formed with a second pair of opposed longitudinally extending slits 8 which are situated in the region of the opposed side edges of the strip extending parallel thereto, as shown most clearly in FIG. 3. This strip of sheet material 5 is situated between the wings 3 in such a way that it will form a covering enclosure for the front portion of the shoe 11. This is particularly apparent from FIG. 4. The formation of this enclosure for the front portion of the shoe is brought about in addition by way of an elongated strap means 9 which extends through the slits 6 and 8 as well as through the opposed openings 4 of the wings 3, with the strap means 9 being adjustably held in its closed position by any suitable structure such as the schematically illustrated buckle 10 of FIG. 2. As is particularly apparent from FIGS. 2 and 3, the slits 6 and 8 are longer than the width of the strap means 9 so that the strap means 9 is longitudinally shiftable in the slits 6 and 8 of the strip of sheet material 5.

FIG. 4 illustrates how the childs shoe 11 is held on the ski by way of the strip of sheet material 5. It is apparent that by way of the strap means 9 the enclosure formed by the strip of sheet material 5 is held around the boot. Moreover, it is apparent that the strip of sheet material 5 extends beyond the upper rearwardly extending region thereof shown in FIG. 2 to terminate at an upper end 13, so that in this way the strip of sheet material also serves beyond the strap means 9 to cover the laces of the boot.

The ski body 1 is also rigid with a heel-holding means 2 which extends upwardly from the upper surface of the ski body and around the heel region of the shoe, this heel-holding means including a strap 12 which may extend through a pair of openings 2a, one of which is shown in FIG. 1, so as to be connected with the rigid part of the heel-holding means. This strap 12 serves to hold the upper end region 13 of the strip 5 against the upper part of the shoe with the strap 12 extending through additional slits formed in the strip 5 adjacent its end region 13.

Thus, referring to FIG. 5, there is fragmentarily illustrated an elongated strip of sheet material 25 which corresponds in all respect to the strip 5 and which has the illustrated opposed end regions 7 and 13. However in the case of FIG. 5 it will be noted that at the end re gion 7 there are a series of pairs of opposed slits 6a, 6b while at the intermediate region which becomes located over the end region 7 there are a plurality of pairs of opposed slits 82, 8b. In this way the extent of adjustability is increased. FIG. 5 also shows the pair of slits 30 at the end region 13 to receive the strap 12.

In the embodiment of the invention which is fragmentarily illustrated in FIG. 7, the elongated strip of sheet material 32 corresponds in all respects to the sheet material 5. However, in the case of F IG. 7 it includes the portion 34 which is dimensionally stable in that it is made of a plastic sheet material which is springy but capable of retaining the configuration according to which it has a lower end region 36 which extends forwardly upwardly and then rearwardly to form the upper region 38 located over the region 36. This springy dimensionally stable sheet material is also fonned with slits for the strap 9. However as is indicated at the upper right portion of FIG. 7, the dimensionally stable, form-retaining strip of sheet material is connected with a flexible elongated strip of the sheet material 40 which extends along and covers the laces of the shoe to terminate at the upper end corresponding to the end 13 described above.

It is to be noted that the strip of sheet material 5 as well as the strap means 9 are illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4 at a scale according to which the thickness thereof is much greater than in actual practice. In other words the thickness of the sheet material 5 and the strap means 9 has been exaggerated in FIGS. 2 and 4 for the sake of clarity. The actual thickness of the strap means 9 and strip of sheet material 5 is such that when the boot is situated on both the end region 7 of the strip means 5 and the lower part of the strap means 9 which extends through the slits 6, the thickness of these parts of components 5 and 9 is not perceptible to the foot through the sole of the shoe.

Also, there is no illustration in the drawings of the longitudinally extending grooves conventionally formed in the lower running surface of the ski body centrally thereof.

Thus, it will be seen that with the above-described structure of the invention the pair of opposed wings 3 which extend upwardly from the opposed side edges of the ski bodies serve to laterally guide the shoe. Moreover, because of the one-piece construction according to which the wings as well as the heel-holding means 2 are formed integrally with the body 1, the ski of the invention has an outstanding stability, particularly since in general the total length of the ski will not be greater than cm. The strip of sheet material 5 contributes to the holding of the shoe on the ski and at the same time covers the forward portion of the shoe so as to form in this way the required protection against dampness.

The provision of simple slits in the strip of sheet material, so that the strap can extend therethrough, provides an exceedingly inexpensive construction which at the same time is adjustable and convenient to manipulate. The same is true of course for the slits at the upper end region of the strip of sheet material for receiving the strap of the heel-holding means. Of course, in this latter connection it is also sufficient if the strap 12 simply serves to hold the upper end region 13 of the strip of sheet material against the shoe without the use of any special slits at the upper end region of the strip. Of course, the fact that the slits have a length greater than the width of the strap enables the structure to adjust itself to the particular size of the shoe.

This latter type of adjustment is of course enhanced by the arrangement as shown in FIG. 5 where there are a series of pairs of opposed slits as well as by the arrangement of FIG. 6 where the wings 23 are provided each with a series of elongated openings 24. Thus, through these expedients shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 it is possible to select a given pair of opposed slits as well as a given pair of opposed openings 24 in order to adapt the structure to the size of a particular shoe.

Naturally, the construction of FIG. 6 according to which the wings 23 are tapered so as to extend all the way up to the front and rear ends of the ski provides an exceedingly stable ski construction which is highly resistant to bending or twisting.

The construction shown in FIG. 7 according to which a dimensionally stable front part 32 of the strip of sheet material forms the enclosure for the front portion of the shoe with the flexible part 40 extending therefrom is highly effective with respect to protection of the shoe and can be connected to the ski by way of simple straps. Thus, the extending of the strap 9 through the slots 6 at the lower portion of the strip of sheet material serves also to retain the strip of sheet material 5 connected with the wings 3, and of course corresponding slits in the dimensionally stable part 34 will receive the strap 9 so that in this way this dimensionally stable part shown in FIG. 7 will also be connected with the wings, between the latter.

It is preferred of course to construct the ski body 1 as well as the heel-holding means 2 and the wings 3 of a plastic material where all of these components are integral to provide a one-piece construction, and for this purpose it is preferred to use a foam plastic. Foam plastics of polyurethane or polystyrol have proved to be particularly suitable not only because of their stability but also because of the light weight.

What is claimed is:

1. In a ski, particularly for children, an elongated ski body having a lower running surface and an upper shoe-engaging surface, heel-holding means situated between the ends of said body and being rigid therewith, said heel-holding means extending upwardly from said upper surface of said body and having a front concave surface directed toward a front end of the ski so that said heel-holding means can receive a heel of the shoe, said heel-holding means including a strap for holding the heel releasably in engagement with the heel-holding means, a pair of side wings situated at least in part forwardly of said heel-holding means at opposite sides of the ski body and being rigid therewith and extending upwardly from the upper surface of said ski body at the opposed side edges thereof, said pair of wings respectively being formed at least with a pair of aligned openings extending through said wings and being substantially flush with the upper surface of said ski body, an elongated sheet-material strip having a width substantially equal to the width of the ski body between said wings thereof, said strip of sheet material having one end region situated next to the upper surface of said ski body between said wings thereof and said strip extending first forwardly then upwardly and then rearwardly over the part of said strip which is situated next to said upper surface between said wings, and strap means engaging said strip and extending therefrom through said openings of said wings and to the portion of said strip which extends rearwardly over the portion situated between said wings next to said upper surface of said ski body for forming together with said strip an enclosure for receiving and covering a front end region of a shoe.

2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said strip is formed at the region of its end which is situated next to said upper surface of said body between said wings with a pair of opposed longitudinally extending slits situated adjacent outer side edge regions of said strip and said strip also being formed at said rearwardly extending portion thereof with a pair of longitudinally extending slits situated adjacent outer side edges of said strip, said strap means extending through all of said slits and said openings to form with said strip the enclosure and covering for the front end region of the shoe.

3. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said strip extends beyond the rearwardly extending portion thereof over the upper surface region of the ski between said wing openings to a free end region which is fonned with at least one additional pair of slits for receiving the strap of said heel-holding means.

4. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said slits have a length greater than the width of said strap means.

5. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said strip is formed with a plurality of pairs of opposed longitudi nally extending slits for selectively receiving said strap means.

6. The combination of claim 1 and wherein each of said wings is formed with a series of said openings.

7. The combination of claim 1 and wherein each of said wings has front and rear ends situated rearwardly and forwardly, respectively, of the front and rear ends of the ski body.

8. The combination of claim 1 and wherein each of said wings gradually tapers forwardly and rearwardly to the region of the front and rear ends of the ski body.

9. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said strip includes a dimensionally stable section situated between said wings and extending around the front region of the shoe and an elongated flexible section extending rearwardly from the part of the dimensionally stable section which is situated over the upper surface of the ski between the wings so that said flexible section can be used for covering the laces of the shoe.

10. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said strip is made of a plastic sheet material which is reinforced with fibers.

11. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said ski body is made of a foam plastic.

12. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said ski body, said heel-holding means which is rigid therewith, and said wings are all integral and provide a one-piece construction. 

1. In a ski, particularly for children, an elongated ski body having a lower running surface and an upper shoe-engaging surface, heel-holding means situated between the ends of said body and being rigid therewith, said heel-holding means extending upwardly from said upper surface of said body and having a front concave surface directed toward a front end of the ski so that said heel-holding means can receive a heel of the shoe, said heel-holding means including a strap for holding the heel releasably in engagement with the heel-holding means, a pair of side wings situated at least in part forwardly of said heelholding means at opposite sides of the ski body and being rigid therewith and extending upwardly from the upper surface of said ski body at the opposed side edges thereof, said pair of wings respectively being formed at least with a pair of aligned openings extending through said wings and being substantially flush with the upper surface of said ski body, an elongated sheet-material strip having a width substantially equal to the width of the ski body between said wings thereof, said strip of sheet material having one end region situated next to the upper surface of said ski body between said wings thereof and said strip extending first forwardly then upwardly and then rearwardly over the part of said strip which is situated next to said upper surface between said wings, and strap means engaging said strip and extending therefrom through said openings of said wings and to the portion of said strip which extends rearwardly over the portion situated between said wings next to said upper surface of said ski body for forming together with said strip an enclosure for receiving and covering a front end region of a shoe.
 2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said strip is formed at the region of its end which is situated next to said upper surface of said body between said wings with a pair of opposed longitudinally extending slits situated adjacent outer side edge regions of said strip and said strip also being formed at said rearwardly extending portion thereof with a pair of longitudinally extending slits situated adjacent outer side edges of said strip, said strap means extending through all of said slits and said openings to form with said strip the enclosure and covering for the front end region of the shoe.
 3. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said strip extends beyond the rearwardly extending portion thereof over the upper surface region of the ski between said wing openings to a free end region which is formed with at least one additional pair of slits for receiving the strap of said heel-holding means.
 4. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said slits have a length greater than the width of said strap means.
 5. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said strip is formed with a plurality of pairs of opposed longitudinally extending slits for sElectively receiving said strap means.
 6. The combination of claim 1 and wherein each of said wings is formed with a series of said openings.
 7. The combination of claim 1 and wherein each of said wings has front and rear ends situated rearwardly and forwardly, respectively, of the front and rear ends of the ski body.
 8. The combination of claim 1 and wherein each of said wings gradually tapers forwardly and rearwardly to the region of the front and rear ends of the ski body.
 9. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said strip includes a dimensionally stable section situated between said wings and extending around the front region of the shoe and an elongated flexible section extending rearwardly from the part of the dimensionally stable section which is situated over the upper surface of the ski between the wings so that said flexible section can be used for covering the laces of the shoe.
 10. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said strip is made of a plastic sheet material which is reinforced with fibers.
 11. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said ski body is made of a foam plastic.
 12. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said ski body, said heel-holding means which is rigid therewith, and said wings are all integral and provide a one-piece construction. 